Infamous America - Introducing "The Devil Within" from Wondery

Episode Date: June 8, 2021

*WARNING: This episode contains a description of graphic violence* It’s a case that has haunted Jefferson Township, New Jersey, for more than 30 years. On a snowy January night, 14-year-old Tommy Sullivan did the unthinkable: he murdered his mother in cold blood, set fire to their house, and then took his own life. Out of the flames of this horrible tragedy, investigations revealed that Tommy was, himself, a part of a Satanic Cult, sparking a nationwide hysteria now known as the “Satanic Panic” This monumental moment in American culture led to communities nationwide enforcing draconian measures to protect their children from what they perceived to be the devil’s influence. Even the Catholic church was convinced this was a case of demonic possession. On the new podcast, THE DEVIL WITHIN, the truth of the grisly murder is finally revealed. Did Tommy act alone? Did he really commit suicide? Is his cult still in power? THE DEVIL WITHIN finally sheds light on questions left unanswered for decades... Listen here: http://wondery.fm/TDW_InfamousUSAPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The brain shuts up, the racing thoughts stop, and it's off to sleep. Mood is federally compliant. The gummies are legal and delivered right to your door. At Mood.com, get 20% off your first order with our promo code, Infamous. Go to Mood.com and use the code infamous to get 20% off your first order. your first order. And they have a 100-day satisfaction guarantee. Mood.com promo code infamous. Hey, everyone, I want to tell you about a new true crime podcast from Wondry. If you like true crime podcasts, you absolutely can't miss this one. It's called The Devil Within. It's about a case that's haunted Jefferson Township, New Jersey for more than 30 years. On his snowy January night,

a 14-year-old boy named Tommy Sullivan did the unthinkable. He murdered his mother in cold blood, set fire to their house, and then took his own life. Out of the flames of the tragedy, investigations revealed that Tommy was part of a satanic cult, which helped spark a nationwide hysteria, now known as the Satanic panic. This monumental moment in American culture led to communities across the country enforcing draconian measures to protect their children from what they perceived to be the devil's influence. Even the Catholic Church was convinced this was a case of demonic possession. On the Devil Within, the truth behind the grisly murder is finally revealed.

Did Tommy act alone? Did he really commit suicide? Is his cult still in power? The Devil Within finally sheds light on questions left unanswered for decades. You're about to hear a preview of The Devil Within, and while you're listening, follow The Devil Within on Apple Podcasts or Amazon music. Or you can binge the entire season right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app. Went into the house with him. There were books on the floor that were on fire. We're satanic books that were set up in a circle in the living room.

We sort of stamping it all out. He's screaming for his family. At that time, the younger son comes out of his best. and Tom asked him if he saw his brother and his mother. He said, yeah, I saw Tommy. He was covered in blood. He said he cut his hand and mommy was taking him to the hospital for stitches. So a little kid went back to bed, apparently.

I said to the senior, there you go. He cut his hand, your wife's taken him to the hospital. And he's like, now. Both the cars are here. So I said, well, let's check downstairs. Get halfway downstairs. Tom looks to his left, sees his wife, who's been murdered. It just turns around the such run out of the house.

In January of 1988, a small town in the forests of northern New Jersey was rocked by a night of terrible violence. This is the true account of the murder of Betty Ann Sullivan, a 37-year-old wife and mother of two. The brutal, ritualistic nature of Mrs. Sullivan's murder only begins to scratch the surface of this heinous crime. Even today, more than 30 years later, the circumstances surrounding her death are still debated in the community.

And of the people who remember that night that still live in town, there aren't many of them that are willing to talk about it. The story made national headlines because it fit into a larger narrative, an idea, a fear that had existed, for the most part, within the margins of the American social landscape, but would now be standing front and center. That fear was given a name, the satanic panic. and it had all at once metastasized from whispered urban legend to a hysterical national nightmare. By the time Detective Paul Hart arrived on the scene,

the single-story gray house with the black shutters was awash in the manic blinking of police lights. The firefighters didn't have much to do. The fired was contained before it had spread out of the family room. Detective Hart was more concerned with the basement, where the dead body was. At this point he knew two things. There was a mutilated body of a woman in her late 30s, presumably Betty Ann Sullivan, the woman of the house. And her son Tommy, a boy of 14, was missing.

He was sitting in quiet contemplation of this when his phone rang. Tommy Sullivan had been found, and it wasn't the news he was hoping for. The crime scene was across the street from the Sullivan home in the Eastman's backyard. And if the questions in his head weren't enough already, there were about to be many, many more. Mr. Eastman had been smart enough or scared enough to stay away from the body. The crime scene was intact, untouched.

The snow surrounding the body was proof of that. Only one set of tracks led from the woods to the woodpile. Tommy had walked there alone. He picked a vantage point from which he could see his front door where he could watch as the coroner removed his mother's body from the house. Then he sat down in the snow and went about the terrible business of killing himself. He had a small pocket knife that he got from the Boy Scouts.

A knife he would now plunge deep into his left wrist. Only he didn't quite know what he was doing. The blade slid between the bones of his wrist, severing tendon and ligament, but not rupturing enough blood vessels for him to bleed out right away. He tried again and again, but kept getting the same results. In terrible pain,

probably close to passing out from shock and afraid that he'd be discovered before he actually finished the job Tommy chose a more permanent solution with his remaining good hand he plunged the small three inch blade into his neck just below his left ear and summoning what must have amounted to superhuman strength

dragged the blade across his neck until it reached his other ear the depth of the cut was astonishing as was the amount of damage it inflicted. Arteries, muscles, windpipe, larynx, all completely severed. There was an explosion of blood and gore. In the weight of his head, in the absence of the muscles of his neck, nearly overcame the structural integrity of his cervical spine.

As it was, the result of the single slash of his blade left him with his right ear come to rest on the back of his right shoulder blade. with his chin pointing straight into the sky. Detective Hart knew immediately that the blade in Tommy's hand would have forensic evidence confirming it as the knife used to murder Betty Ann Sullivan. He also knew that Tommy's fingerprints would be found on the dumbbell in the Sullivan residence.

What he didn't know was how these wounds could be self-inflicted. And he wondered if any evidence would be found indicating that the death of this boy was anything other than a suicide. Questioning of the family, opened up many disturbing avenues of investigation for law enforcement, satanic worship, musical influence in the form of heavy metal bands, concealed obsession with the occult, and all in an incredibly short period of time. The family stated that at Thanksgiving, Tommy was his normal self, but six short weeks later, he seemed to be a completely different

person. The last piece of evidence that was collected that night and delivered to Detective of heart the next morning was a folded sheet of paper recovered for Mr. Sullivan's car that had been crashed and abandoned in the Eastman's driveway. It was written in Tommy's hand and was a contract between Tommy and the great demon of hell that called for the murder of his family, followed by his own suicide. The signature on the bottom was simple and clearly legible, barely incursive. The signature of a kid, a child really, who mere weeks prior was a well-adjusted boy. of 14, a loving son and brother, a loyal friend and gifted student who was completely normal and well adjusted in the way that all parents hope their children to be. To understand exactly

what happened to this promising young man now requires a deeper investigation, an investigation into the fertile, impressionable mind of a teenager, and what influences could so dramatically alter his entire personality. Were there signs that everyone missed? Could the this have been prevented. And finally, is there any way for us to possibly know if there was something darker, something more sinister at play that led to a 14-year-old boy murdering his own mother and then taking his own life? A boy named Tommy Sullivan, who would come to be known by a new name. The Jersey Devil.